Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

UK poll shows ‘huge’ public support for Magnitsky sanctions against Russian officials

Democracy Digest

A new poll reveals overwhelming public support in the UK for sanctions against Russian officials suspected of torture and corruption.

Campaigners have pressed the British government to follow the US precedent by passing a version of the Magnitsky Act, which imposes travel and financial sanctions on officials suspected of human rights violations in Russia and publicly names those culpable in a government listing.

A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society think tank shows that the vast majority of the British public would support legislation to refuse visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials believed to be involved in corruption, torture and human rights violations.
Key results of the survey of 1,860 people include:

· Overall, almost three quarters of those polled (72 per cent) said they would support a British Magnitsky Act, compared with just six per cent who would oppose such a measure. This rises to 78 per cent of Conservative voters.

· 72 per cent of people believe corruption in Russia is widespread, with four per cent believing it is not widespread.

· Just 14 per cent of those polled believe the British Government is doing as much as could be reasonably expected to stop money from Russian crime and corruption entering the UK. 46 per cent of Conservative voters and 49 per cent of Labour voters believe the Government should be doing more.

“The UK poll shows that British government should do much more than they have already done to ban corrupt Russian officials and human rights abusers,” said William Browder, Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and former client of Sergei Magnitsky (above).

The Sergei Magnitsky Act was named for the tax lawyer arrested in 2008 after revealing that Russian officials had orchestrated a tax refund fraud to transfer $230m of state funds to a criminal syndicate. He died in jail after being assaulted and denied medical treatment.